Back from August Trip About This Page:

[GoHerdIBG]

I have been back from WDW for a few weeks now and have had a little time to look back and really decide if the trip was as bad as I initially thought.

We were in WDW August 7-15 and stayed at the Poly with a MK view room. We arrived the morning of 7th and left the afternoon of the 15th so we pretty much had 9 full days. Our previous 2 trips (only trips with children - ages 9 and 6) were both in 2007 (February and December). My wife and I had been about 4 or 5 other times before we had children.

I mention the other trips as I initially felt I had Disney overload at the end of this trip. My wife and weren't having a magical time, the kids weren't having a magical time, and I was really upset at the amount of money we spent and the perceived return on that money.

I will try and touch base on all of the good and not-so-good things from the trip:


The Good:

1. Customer service is still pretty outstanding for the most part. We were in DTD one afternoon and my oldest daughter left a package from Tren-D worth $150 at another store while getting her picture taken. We did not realize it until 5 hours later when we were back in the room. We tried calling the store but the number on the receipt is a generic Disney shopping number and no one could/would give us a direct number for the store. The Disney shopping rep said most stores don't even have outside lines. I decided to try and work with the Concierge at the Poly on it. I worked with a nice guy named Alexander for over an hour. He could not get in touch with anyone at Tren-D or the store we thought we had left the package in. He finally got in touch with someone at one of the stores about 5 buildings away and asked him (I think his name was Jerry) to see if he could locate it. By the time we were finished with dinner, Alexander had located the package and was sending a "runner" to get it. I asked to speak with the manager on duty and wrote a nice note about what Alexander had done for us and the time he took to make sure our package was located. Later that night the package was delivered to our room. Very nice!

2. Hoop-Dee-Doo is great. I loved it. Wife loved it. Kids loved it. Highly recommended. Good food, great entertainment. My kind of humor. Did I mention I highly recommend it?

3. The MK view from the Poly is nice.

4. Le Cellier was excellent. One of the best meals we have ever had at Disney.


The Bad:

1. AUGUST - NEVER AGAIN!!!!! We were all miserable. I really think the August heat made everything seem much worse than it really was. It made me (and my wife) have much less patience with the kids. It was an awful cycle. The kids would do/say something, we would react, they would react, everyone would be upset, cycle continued....Not fun at all!

2. The monorail broke down twice while we were on it. Once was in the morning on the way to MK. We got on at the Poly and made it to the GF where the doors would not open. They had to force the doors open and everyone had to get off. We finally got on the next train about 35 minutes later. While not terrible it was right when we were trying to get to MK for the opening. This was before we really knew to go the TTC and ride the express monorail to MK.

3. Tony's Town Square has not gotten any better since 2007. It was OK when we ate there in Feb 2007 but I read where it had improved so I wanted to try it again. Our reservation was at 6:30 and we arrived at 6:10. They told us we would be seated in about 20 minutes (which was right on time). My wife and youngest daughter went to the restroom. They were in the restroom for only about 2 minutes when they called our name. I told the hostess my wife and daughter were in the restroom so they put our menus to the side. My daughter ended up needing a little extra time in the restroom (won't go into the details). About 5 minutes later they came over and asked if we were all ready and I told them no. I told my oldest daughter to go tell my wife to try and hurry our other daughter (not knowing the details of why it was taking so long). 5 minutes later the manager comes over and asked if we were ready and I told her my daughter was in the restroom and needed a few more minutes (it had been 10 minutes and was still only about 6:25). The manager then tells me she is going to yank our place and put us back in the queue. I told her we had a 6:30 reservation anyway and I told her to go ahead and I will show up at the check-in desk at 6:30. She then proceeds to tell me that we would no longer have a reservation since it was used to check-in at 6:10. I was royally ticked at this point and told her how much of a “richard” move that was (used another word). I must have made my point because she decided to give us 5 more minutes. My wife and daughter came out 2 minutes later and were in our seats at 6:30. I was pretty ticked throughout the meal and the waitress unfortunately paid the price by getting a lower tip (she was not that good anyway).

4. Test track broke down 3 times while were there. Twice while we were in line and once right after we finished riding. It broke down a few times during our last trips but this was much worse as the lines were huge (120 minutes at one point).

5. Disney needs to do something about line jumpers/skippers. I do not use the singles line, but I saw people in the singles line at Test Track (the fastpass line is close to the single line) doing the "just catching up to my group" thing. Not sure how that works??? Aren't you a single? Most people just ignore it as I typically do. I am on vacation and do not really want to deal with it. I understand that people/kids have to use the restroom and need to leave the line, but when 1 person is in line and 4 other adults show up after an hour in line - something needs to be done by Disney to make sure that does not happen.

6. Along those same lines, the CM's need to know how to manage the fastpass lines against the standby lines. We were in line for Buzz and about 6 groups back from the merge point for the standby and FP and the CM let all of the FP people through for 10 minutes before letting any standby people thru. He then only let about 3 groups through and then started letting more FP people through. It was almost a riot. Everyone in the standby line started yelling and getting upset. Another CM came out and got an earful from everyone. She took control and was much more fair.

7. What's up with all the blackbirds at the Poly? Bird doodoo all over everything at the pool. Chairs, cots, our clothes, etc. They are loud too.

8. Are guests of any Disney hotels allowed to visit the pools of other resorts? I overheard 2 different groups at the Poly pool talking about going back to the Pop to clean up for dinner. The pool at the Poly was very crowded the entire time we were there and I don't think someone paying $80/night should be able to go to the pool of a resort that costs $400/night. I know that sounds snobbish but I paid a lot of money for a reason.

9. I was really disappointed in the kid’s dessert at Teppan Edo. They said the dessert was a fruit cup. I figured they meant fresh fruit in a ceramic bowl or cup. It was a dole fruit cup with the celphane cover on it. Very cheap for a $160 meal.

10. August heat again!!!!!


We spent over $7000 on this trip and I think my expectation were too high for it. I also think I spent too much time on these boards which put me into overload before I even went. I started planning in January which added to that overload.

Even with all of the "bad" things above, my 2 daughters have told numerous stories about the vacation over and over again - which tends to make it all worth it.

[3girlsmom]

We will never go in August again either! You are right about the heat making tempers flare!! It is sooo hot!! The girls would grow impatient early every day and spent more time swimming than any thing else. Our future trips will be taken later in the fall like our previous trips!!

[vfair]

Sorry about the rough spots but glad you had some good things as well.

[iamgrumpy]

The Heat can be and usually is very high and with high humidity in August, and I'm sorry it was for your trip, if going to WDW I would recommend folks go at different times if possible but if not be prepared. Again Sorry you had such a hot trip!!

Sometimes planning a trip can be the best thing for a trip but also be a detriment to it. On one hand your prepared, know what is going on, when, etc but it does lead to higher expectations and when things don't go as planned can cause disappointment. But when spending so much yes you want to be prepared so I would recommend anyone planning a trip whether its to Disney or just to a local destination, plan so you can be prepared but leave your expectations at the door. And be flexible.

There is NO Excuse for how that Manager at Tony's behaved and I would have expected a little more compassion. I know they have people waiting for tables behind you in line, but they could have just taken the next party and put you in their time slot or table. But with Free Dining and busier restaurants in general maybe they have overbooked themselves by so much they have to be strict. But there is no reason to be rude, and not so some compassion to a person. Sorry you had that happen

Pool hopping is NOT allowed and if that had happened while I was there, I would have gone over to the Life Guard and make him/her aware and ask that they ask the guest for room key or ID. Or gone and gotten a manager. Your right when you pay that much for a room at the Poly someone paying for a room at POP shouldn't have access to the pool. The only exception is if a guest is staying on Points with DVC then they are allowed to pool hop as Members of DVC but only at certain resorts!

Sounds like your trip had some unmagical Moments that were amplified by the heat and humidity. If you plan another trip, I'd go when the temps aren't as hot and humid (October, November, January, May) are all good months to choose from.

Thanks for sharing your experiences. I feel for you, we stayed at the Poly in 2006 and our expectations were way to high and we lost a lot of magic that trip. We will not be returning to stay at the Poly due to it so I can feel your pain

[mcc0313]

Glad you were able to take a step back and see some of the good memories of the trip, hopefully the bad ones will fade over time. I am really sorry as to how you were treated at Tony's, that is just terrible customer service, you were all there...there should have been no reason why they could not just wait.

The heat can get to everyone, we just returned and while the heat did not bother us too much there were a few times that tempers flared just becuase some people in our group were hot meaning having to shift plans around to accomodate....

Hope that this trip does not leave too much of a sour spot for you and that your next trip will be much better.

[lazanya]

Sorry you had some unmagical moments.

[Colexis Mom]

Sorry about the rough spots, but glad you had some good ones as well! And as far as TT, that breaks down everyday! So it wasn't just bad luck on your part! Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us!

[carters_mom]

Thank you for sharing. We took one trip in late August and we were all cranky because of the heat and humidity. It wears on you quickly!

I am also fed up with "line jumpers" trying to say they're just catching up with their group. This has been my experience with most theme parks. It seems like there's always someone joining their group that's five families ahead of mine. For one it's rude and for two, I don't like having to move myself and my child around in a teeny tiny space so that you can get by. Our trip to Universal this summer was the absolute worst I've ever experienced with this!

I'd be really upset if I knew non-resort guests were using my pool, I don't blame you at all nor do I think you are being snobbish.

I'm glad to hear your girls seemed to enjoy themselves. I hope next time is a little more magical!

[bsblady01]

sorry that you did not enjoy your trip

[mommadjones]

I have to agree with the line jumping issue however I just try to brush it off. I have figured out that if you let it almost anything can get on your nerves when you are somewhere with thousands and thousands of people. I am sorry that the heat got to you. I understand how it can be as we were there Aug 11th-19th. I was prepared for it but if you aren't it can be very oppressive. I hope you give WDW another shot. Maybe try a moderate this time and pick a cooler time to visit.

[SHEANA1226]

Sorry to hear your trip wasn't so magical. I just want to correct one thing pool hopping is allowed ONLY if you are a DVC member and it is not allowed at Stormalong Bay and Animal Kingdom Lodge. I have not used this perk but it is available to DVC members.

[eff051102]

I think you hit the nail on the head with the August- Never Again! Since you
mentioned going before in February and December I think sticking with a
cooler month would be best. My DD's birthday is in July and I will NEVER
go in July or August and I live in the South. Nope...we will be celebrating her
unbirthday instead.

Sorry you had such a bad experience. I would've talked with a manager about
the pool hopping people (which is a no-no) and also about Tony's. The customer
service people at MK are really great, I just wish they were at every restaurant.

[MMMD]

I'm so sorry you had some rough spots! You are so right about the heat causing tempers to flare. Then add crowds of people to that heat and oh boy recipe for disaster. And, yes, while the experience with the hostess at Tony's was beyond poor customer service try to use the great experience with Alexander to balance that out.

I'm with you on the line cutting. I don't begrudge a family with a small child having a parent and the child leave the line for a bathroom break and rejoining the rest of the family at their place in line. That happens and we can all understand. But the groups that send one person ahead to wait in line and then have a group meet them is against the rules and not fair to the others who've been waiting.

You aren't being snobby expecting to have room at the pool in the hotel you paid $400/night not crowded with guests from other hotels. Those same people taking advantage are probably line cutters as well.

Go again next time in January and I'll bet you'll have a better time. August isn't for me.

[KMB733]

Sorry you had some less than Magical moments on your trip. I agree that it seems line jumping has become an increasing issue. Unless theme parks figure out a way to stop this from happening, it will continue.

[tylerdylansmom]

Sorry if your trip was less than magical.